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Healthier Living The Juicy Details During the hot days of summer parents often turn to fruit juices and drinks to quench children's thirst. Our parents (our children's grandparents) recommend juice as a healthy way to rehydrate our children and offer them vitamins at the same time. But recent research suggests that we may be offering our children too much of a good thing. Over the past 5 years several studies have linked increased juice intake to both childhood obesity and failure to thrive. The American Academy of Pediatrics has recently revised its recommendations about how much juice we should offer our children and when. In the revised statement, the AAP has expanded its list of recommendations for pediatricians and parents who want to regulate fruit juice consumption in children:
Q. How do I know which juice is best for my child? A. The FDA mandates that only products which are 100% juice may be labeled "juice." All other products must be labeled as fruit drinks, beverages, or cocktails. It is very important that you be aware of what you are buying in the grocery stores. Being a smart consumer can help your child more than you realize. Recently we went to our local grocery store and checked out the juice section. Many drinks that are in the juice section are not the real deal. For instance here's what some of the leading brands of drinks put on their labels:
Only fruit drinks that are
labeled "100% Juice" are, in fact, juice. If you read the
ingredients on the back, they should read something like this: Juicy Juice is 100% juice. Minute Maid has juice that is 100% juice. Some flavors of Welch's are 100% juice, but not all of Welch's juices are 100% juice, so it is very important that you read the labels. Generic store brands are also 100% juice if they are labeled "juice". Just because the store brand is cheaper, doesn't mean it isn't as good for your child as the more costly, well-known brand. Fruit drinks that are not "juice" (by the standards of the American Academy of Pediatrics) usually have ingredients that look something like this: "water, high fructose corn syrup, juice concentrate" "High fructose corn syrup" is nothing more than sugar. So, what is best on a hot day when the kids have been outside playing? Water. Plain old, clear, calorie-free water. Most all of the drinks we checked had anywhere from 90 to 110 calories per serving, so try giving your child water whenever possible.
One Word of Caution: For more information check out the American Academy of Pediatrics website at www.aap.org. Thanks to Deborah Flomenhoft, M.D. for contributing to this article. Some information was also compiled from the American Association of Pediatrics.
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